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That was Scott Moir who, along with dance partner Tessa Virtue, has spun many masterpieces of his own on the ice. And he was in awe.

Chan, three-time world champion — “19-time national champion,” adds Moir, exaggerating only slightly — wowed ’em all over the weekend in Paris, slam-dunking his fourth Trophee Bompard title in front of a rapturous, standing-O crowd. Brilliantly perfect through Friday’s short and Saturday’s long program, smashing his own world records in both, the 22-year-old finished a whopping 31 points ahead of closest pursuer Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan.

All challengers chasing the Toronto-raised virtuoso in a season that will culminate with the Sochi Olympics a couple of months hence must have got the message by now: Chan is damn close to untouchable these days.

“I’m always really respectful to all the competitors,” Chan said during a conference call after the medals ceremony. “They’re playing just as important a role in my journey to, hopefully, success at the Olympics. But at the same time, I’m not going to take mercy. I kind of have a no-mercy mentality.”

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It’s a killer attitude Chan has honed since earning his first world championship in 2011, through the disruption of coaching changes and training relocations. Where once he could out-quad opponents — a brace of them in the long — others have followed suit, forcing Chan to dig out extra points in other facets of his programs. “Now it’s a bit closer.”

In Saturday’s Four Seasons free skate, Chan was sublime and imperious, nailing his opening quad toe-triple-toe combination, an immediately quad follow-up, the sometimes disobedient triple Axel, and five triples that followed, along with his always superior footwork and artistry. From the second his music began playing, head tilted back and eyes closed, he was in the zone.

“I tell myself, you’re out there on your own. This isn’t hockey, this isn’t tennis, where you’re looking your opponent in the eye. Your opponent on the ice when you’re competing is yourself. That’s my No. 1 approach to being better than anyone else, despite everyone getting closer and closer.

“A lot of people make the mistake to think that it’s all about adding more jumps or adding more difficult jumps, another quad, another Axel. But there are so many factors that come into play. With the results I saw today and the points I got, I really learned a lot. That’s going to play a role in the strategy, whether I’m going to add another Axel like I was planning on at nationals, or am I just going to leave the program as it is.”

He scored a can’t-touch-this 196.75 in the free, 295.27 overall and afterwards felt it necessary to emphasize that it’s harder than it looks, lest anyone make the wrong assumptions, as if this all comes too effortlessly to him.

“The program itself, even though it went so well today, it doesn’t mean that it’s too easy, I don’t want people to think it’s too easy. It’s definitely very, very challenging.”

At worlds in London, Ont., last March, Chan set a world record in the short but followed up with a somewhat messy long, though he retained his title. That’s nagged at him.

“It felt a little bit like unfinished business. It was great to come here and, in the same circumstances, be able to skate the way I did. I felt in control of every moment, in control of each element.”

As he assumed his starting posture at centre ice, what went through his mind was this: “I remind myself that I’ve been standing in this position many, many times before. And I’m ready.”

That’s where the growing maturity, the experience and self-confidence, kicks in. “When I would skate clean (in earlier years), I would come off the ice and say to myself, ‘I don’t know how I did that.’ It felt really out of the blue, kind of like I was lucky. But today was interesting because I knew exactly what I skated the way I did. I can now I identify what I need to repeat at the Grand Prix final, at nationals and then at the Olympics.”

It was a gold-times-two outcome for Canadians in Paris, with Virtue and Moir copping their second title on the GP circuit this season. Pairs team Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford claimed silver behind the veteran Chinese duo of Olympic runners-up Pang Qing and Tong Jian. All have qualified for the Grand Prix final in Fukuoka, Japan, early next month.

For Virtue and Moir, that event will mark the first head-to-head meeting this season with rivals and training partners Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the U.S., who won the competition last year.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about facing Charlie and Meryl for the first time this season,” said Moir.

The duo has made several adjustments to their short dance program since winning Skate Canada in October, moving a difficult twizzle sequence to earlier in the choreography. In the free skate, the Canadians — reigning Olympic champions — absorbed a few deductions for timing issues, but still posted an impressive overall score of 180.96.

“That was me pretty much not being able to count to six on the first lift and then going a little bit long on a later one,” said Moir. He added, joking, in reference to Chan: “They had to take a couple of points from us because they gave them to him.”

If there was any mild disappointment for the dancers, it came from a spotty standing ovation from the crowd at the end of their classic-themed free. “I miss my Canadian audience,” said Moir. “We’ll save it for Russia.”

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